You've changed your tune. I remember you saying something along the lines of "at the end of the day, the best one will sell the most"
EDIT: Maybe not
Double Edit: Also, I dont think service providers make money off selling phones, they make profit from the service they provide. I'm also fairly certain that Verizon is not in the business to promote Android, they just want more customers. Android is also open source and free, its not the OS that's making Google money, its that its also bring Google more users. When HTC, Motorola and Samsung can use a free OS, it cuts their cost down, which cuts the provider's costs down, which leads to customer's saving money which means more customers for the phone makers, the service providers and Google. Sounds like Android is more profitable.